Pope Francis named 20 new cardinals on Sunday with 15 of the new appointees aged under 80 years-old. The Pope selected the cardinals from 14 countries which include churchmen from Cape Verde, Myanmar, Tonga and New Zealand.

The Pope said the new batch of cardinals from the different nations reflect the growth of Catholic churches in places such as Africa and Asia and all its diversity.

Pope Francis announced on Sunday to devotees in St. Peter's Square that the new cardinals "show the inseparable tie with the church of Rome to churches in the world."

Two of the new cardinals come from Oceania and Africa, three are from Latin America, three are from Asia, and five are from Europe.

Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican's chief spokesman said in a statement, "the selection confirms that the pope doesn't feel tied to the traditional "cardinal sees,' which reflected historic reasons in various countries."

Francis wants to make use of his "period in office" to negate problems in the curia, particularly careerism, corruption and incompetence. His 20 new cardinals have advocates that correspond to his sentiments.

"Appointing cardinals is the most powerful way for the Pope to shape the Catholic Church. With his appointments, Pope Francis appears to be trying to reflect the diversity and growth of the Church in developing nations," BBC's Religious Affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt said.

Pope Francis has previously asserted that the Catholic Church must remove itself of "vanity, arrogance and pride" and humbly serve the poverty-stricken society instead.

The Pope also announced from a Vatican window in St. Peter's Square that he will lead a meeting of all cardinals to discuss and "reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia," the administrative body of the Vatican on February 12 and 13.

The new cardinals will be formally ordained on February 14.